Happily Ever After?
by TransparentLight
Summary: She was as beautiful as a princess. He was as good-looking as a prince. And just like every fairy tale, the prince and princess were supposed to fall in love with each other. But then, I came and changed everything...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **50 percent of this story is mine. the other 50 percent is my friend's. I terribly suck at writing so I needed her to help correct my mistakes and everything. It was intended to be just a one-shot but somehow it became too complicated to end in only one chapter. -.-

Anyway, it's pretty much my first fanfic so even if it is very very bad, no flames, deal? =P

******Disclaimer: **I own everything. Yeah, right. If I was Pinochio, my nose would be a mile long now. xD

* * *

**~ Happily Ever After? ~**

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'_Once upon a time…'_

She and he were best friends.

Granted, their families had known each other even before Japanese history was recorded, metaphorically.

She was so very beautiful. Just like a wingless angel descended to Earth. Long chestnut hair, shiny ruby eyes, smooth flawless skin, and a smile to die for…

He was undoubtedly the handsome Prince Charming in every teenage girl's dream.

And everybody said that they were obviously fated to be together. That they would definitely get married after graduating from university. That she loved him and he loved her and their "happily ever after" was just at their fingertips.

Too bad.

Those silly fabricated dreams could never come true.

Since the one he's head over heels in love with was… me.

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_**1.**_

I didn't know anything about love.

To be totally honest, I never really cared.

Maybe because all the guys chasing after me were so stupid and childish.

When Reito came around, although he's just one year older, his mature attitude somehow amazed me. Despite his flirtatious nature, he was loyal and serious in a relationship. In addition, Reito was cute as hell and he made me smile a lot of times.

So, it's not really a big surprise that I, the ice queen in everyone's eyes, said yes when he asked me to be his girlfriend.

At the time, I wasn't aware that I was destroying the perfect fairytale that many people had been tirelessly created for years.

Nonetheless, even if I had known, I wouldn't have backed off anyway.

I liked to win and I always got what belonged to me.

And then, inevitably, I met her.

Truthfully, I was yet to know anything about her, except the fact that she and Reito had been best friends for like ever.

Well, people always say that you should only care about the first impression when you meet your boyfriend's parents. But honestly, meeting his best friend is important as well. If that best friend has a negative opinion of you, your love relationship may be doomed.

Usually, I was not the kind of person who gave a damn about what other people thought of me.

Yet the way Reito had talked about her, no matter how little it had been, made it so obvious that she was someone special. Someone I couldn't just blink my eyes at, shrug, and turn away.

Still, I wasn't very fond of the idea of meeting her. In my mind, I had already pictured her as some spoiled arrogant girl who liked to make other people feel like crap.

Therefore, when he took me to The Tea Storm, a bright and breezy cottage that was simply decorated in traditional Japanese style, I was totally surprised.

"Shizuru is a tea addict." Smiling cheerfully at my puzzled face, he gently took my hand and led me into the lovely cottage.

And before I even knew it, I was heading toward the most beautiful and glamorous girl I had ever seen.

I was always confident about myself. Everyone also said that I could have easily been on magazine covers and ads if I wanted to.

But somehow, just looking at her made me so nervous and feel like I was just a little girl who hadn't even hit puberty yet.

Slowly, she raised her ruby eyes from her steaming tea cup to look toward us. She noticed Reito first and gave him a breathtaking smile that immediately brightened up the whole cottage, if that's even possible. When her eyes rested on me, the one trailing somewhat awkwardly and shyly behind him, she seemed stunned, a slight frown creasing her smooth forehead.

Reito had said that he had told her about me and the meeting before we came here, so why would she wear that "I-can-not-believe-it" look on her face?

Did she find me unattractive and unsuitable for her _so-called_ childhood friend?

That made a lot of sense.

After all, I had heard the rumor that he was the love of her life and my appearance _unfortunately_ ruined everything.

However, as suddenly as her expression had changed, all traces of her discomfort disappeared. I began to doubt if what just happened was real or merely my foolish imagination.

A calm smile tugged at the corners of her flawless lips when we sat down across her and Reito introduced me.

"Nice to meet you, Kuga-san. Ara, I have heard an awful lot about you from Reito here."

There was something flickering in her wine-red eyes as she took a very swift glance at me before smirking over towards him. Like she couldn't even look at me for more than one second. She had a strange yet charming accent and although I was annoyed, for some reason, I felt butterflies pitch a fit in my stomach.

"Nah… You're my best friend. Natsuki is my girlfriend. We're family so shouldn't you two be on the first name basis?" Reito humorously suggested.

I tried my best not to roll my eyes. Family? Was he serious? She and I were more like love rivals to say the least.

"What do you think?" Her cardinal eyes found mine unconsciously and I felt a jolt in my chest straight away. I wanted so much to scream "No" because we barely knew each other and apparently she didn't like me at all.

"Sure. I don't mind."

Damn it, I couldn't even control what came out of my mouth.

After that, I expected a full round of interrogation from her to put me down or embarrass me. Instead, Reito seemed to be the one talking the most during the conversation. Till the end, she just listened intently, sipped her tea quietly, and paused occasionally to answer his questions or ask me something.

Another thing I could easily notice was that she hardly made eye contact with me. She often stared past me as if I was invisible or gazed at her best friend.

I couldn't say that I wasn't hurt by that but there was no way in hell I would tell her or complain with him.

I was too proud for that.

She disliked me. So what? I couldn't care less.

She was just… jealous. Because he loved me. Not her.

The thought made me want to laugh, really.

After several times hanging out with Reito and her – I didn't want to but he hoped she and I could get along, so I couldn't let him down, I found out she was so not some spoiled, stuck-up brat at all.

She was nice, smart, humble, and elusive. Everybody either loved or admired her.

She was utterly perfect that it made me wonder why Reito didn't fall for her in the first place.

I had never doubted myself.

Until I met Shizuru, I had never questioned why someone loved me or if I was the _right_ one for him.

I was so self-conscious around her.

And the way she never looked at me directly didn't help either. Her eyes were always glued to Reito or somewhere else as though she didn't notice my presence.

The way she said my name was also forced and emotionless.

It's a wonder that Reito had no idea about that. He was so clueless every now and then.

No matter how ridiculous this might sound, sometimes I wanted to do something extraordinary, but probably stupid in her opinion nonetheless, to get her to recognize me. There was even a time I examined my face very carefully and thoroughly in the mirror to see if I had a scar or something very scary that I wasn't aware of. Something terrible that only she could see.

After a good while, I begrudgingly ignored her indifference and the weird gnawing feeling in my heart.

I rarely looked for acceptance from other people so why should she be any different? I had Reito and it was already enough, wasn't it?

Even if his best friend hated me, it shouldn't matter anyway.

It's just that every time he hugged me or kissed me around her, she would turn her face in another direction out of politeness or something else I couldn't know, or stare fixedly at her cup of tea, her expression unreadable.

Sometimes I swore I could see her shoulders slump a little bit and the emptiness under her long eyelashes, in those deep, red-like-blood pools. If I hadn't known her better.

Reito had said once that Shizuru was not the one for emotions. It was never easy to know what she was actually thinking or feeling.

And more importantly, I should've felt victorious. Without any hesitance, the handsome Prince chose me over the most beautiful Princess anyone could ever find in fairytales.

But instead, I felt bad. Like I was wrong or something.

Honestly though, how could you possibly feel happy when your happiness was costing someone else's?

So I avoided kissing him in front of her, well, for a while. Reito realized that and he was surprisingly understanding, although I really didn't say anything.

I thought that everything would be better that way.

I would keep on living my easy, carefree life. She would keep on subtly and nonchalantly ignoring my presence.

After all, we were perfect strangers. The only thing ever connected us was him.

Until one _fateful_ day, he was kissing me under a tree and all of a sudden, I felt someone's eyes on me.

Instinctively, I snapped my eyes open.

And there she stood. On the pebble road, a few meters away. Her long chestnut hair swung loose on her slim shoulders, reflecting the radiant sunlight.

It seemed like she happened to walk by and spot us.

I expected her to turn away. Just like always.

But she didn't.

She was blatantly watching. For the first time.

No. Correction. She was staring straight at _me_. Not Reito. Not somewhere else. But me. Only me.

I felt something flutter inside my stomach, my cheeks instantly growing hot.

I tried so hard to focus back on the kiss. I wanted to shut my eyes or just look away.

I failed. Obviously. Confusedly.

_What the hell is going on? Why is she looking at me like that?_

She didn't even blink, her alluring ruby eyes burning into mine.

As if this was a secret staring contest between us.

And for a split second, she looked sad. So sad.

And then she's gone. Disappearing behind the tall building.

I quickly pushed Reito away, blinking rapidly.

I couldn't breathe.

I was suffocated and it wasn't because of his passionate kisses.

Miraculously, he didn't seem to notice anything. He just smiled contently, obliviously while I felt so lost. So scared in a way I couldn't put my finger on.

And you know what's even madder? The way she had looked at me was neither intimidating nor threatening.

Not even close. Not even a tiny bit.

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Okay, so what do you think? Hoped you liked it because I would be so sad if you didn't. =(


	2. Chapter 2

Woh, I'm seriously in awe. xD Never thought people would really like it and that many would dislike ReitoxNatsuki pairing. But I honestly didn't think anyone could fit the role of the Prince, besides Reito. Tate - No. Takeda - A big no-no. Sakomizu - lol.

Thank you so much for the amazing feedback. xD About the technical writing stuff, my friend is usually the one who helps me edit my writing and she tends to write in short sentences, because it's kind of both her writing habit and style. So, it's hard to change immediately and I'm sorry if it bothered anyone. =)

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**~Happily Ever After?~**

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Since that very one day, I vaguely knew something had changed. Permanently.

Shizuru and me. We started to do that a lot. Staring.

When she thought nobody was looking, I could feel her enchanting eyes burn a hole in the back of my head or the side of my face. When I turned and caught her heated gaze, she didn't look annoyed or angry. She didn't even bother to pretend that she wasn't staring at me.

And just like that, she held my gaze for a little too long that I could no longer stand the strength of her eyes and had to look away, cheeks blushing a fire.

Sometimes, I believed I saw the corners of her lips curl up slightly, as if she tried to hide a smile. A lot of times, I caught a glimmer of something in her mysterious red eyes. Something making my heart beat incredibly faster and knocking the air out of me.

And I was so freaking lost again.

I didn't know her direction's destination. I just didn't know what her intentions were anymore.

It was a game I didn't know the rules. And it should have crept me out but it didn't. And I still blindly, wholeheartedly played her ambiguous game. Officially feeling like an idiot.

Throwing and tossing lingering glances.

Staring, gazing, and looking.

Never speaking or talking too much.

Soft fingertips brushed over my skin so innocently and accidentally one too many times.

I desperately wished I could read her mind to figure out what was going on.

Because I didn't know what I was getting into.

Because I couldn't bring myself to ask anyone else or even Reito, either.

For once, he suddenly was an outsider.

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_**2.**_

People stare at different people for different reasons. Most of the time, it is either because you're pretty or because you're wearing something weird.

I could easily understand why guys gawked at me – I usually gave them my famous "I'm-gonna-kill-you" glare in return anyway. I could somewhat understand why girls stared at me – They were not that hard to read. Jealousy, curiosity, or admiration was clearly written all over their faces.

But I couldn't find a good reason why she suddenly wanted to look at me.

Honestly, she had been ignoring my presence for a very long and good while.

Why did she change?

Maybe the invisible thing on my face had magically disappeared? Maybe the princess just decided that the better she knew about her enemy, the higher chance she had to win the prince back?

Even so, did people really look at their enemy the way Shizuru always looked at me whenever Reito and everybody else didn't seem to pay attention to us?

No matter how hard I tried, it's nearly impossible to know what was in her layered and complex heart.

And just when I thought things couldn't get any more complicated, the day Reito, she, and I hung out with our other friends in a bar to change "air" proved how dead wrong I was.

That day, he was absolutely drunk. His stupid buddies forced him to drink too much. So when he went in for a kiss, I wanted to pull away. I hated alcohol. It smelled so damn disgusting.

But I was too late. His lips already found mine.

And instead of closing my eyes and kissing him back like a girlfriend should, I found her. Looking straight at us. And I was staring at her. Staring at her who was staring straight back at me. Strangely.

My pulse jerked in my neck and my heartbeat quickened to a near maddening pace.

After what felt like forever, she blinked blankly, turned her heels, and walked away. Into the noisy, crazy crowd on the dance floor. Far away from me. Without a backward glance.

I felt empty and more guilty than I ever had before.

I didn't understand why.

I was always the winner, so how come I felt like I was losing something very important and no matter what I had, I would still be empty-handed in the end?

"I'll get another drink. Wait for me, 'kay?" Kissing my forehead affectionately, he stood up, slid out of the booth, and swaggered his way to the packed bar.

I nodded absentmindedly. I would've stopped him if my eyes weren't too busy searching around for a certain someone. If my mind wasn't too busy wondering where she was and what she's doing.

After several frustrating minutes, my eyes finally settled on her across the large room.

She was sitting next to some ugly freaky guy in a corner of the bar. Okay, I lied. He's super gorgeous but there was no way in hell I would admit it.

Anyway, he was shamelessly flirting with her and incredulously, she seemed to go along with that pretty well.

I furrowed my brows, supremely irritated.

So much for madly in love with Reito huh?

But it wasn't my place to judge.

Reito loved me so it's not strange for her to move on. To find someone else. To love someone else.

I should've felt happy. Like a huge stone had been lifted off my chest. I wouldn't have needed to worry about her and Reito anymore. I wouldn't have needed to deal with her anymore. And, really, wasn't that what I'd always wanted in the first place?

I bit my lips, gritting my teeth, trying to tear my gaze away. My eyes had a mind of their own though. They kept flying back to her. To them. Anxiously.

He was telling some lame jokes and she smiled again.

Heck. I wasn't bothered by this. Nope. Not at all.

He was whispering something into her ear and flashing her a perfect and glittering smile which could effortlessly melt all the girls.

God. It was enough to make me gag. In fact, I felt slightly nauseated.

He was touching her hands, grinning seductively with a dimple alongside his mouth.

And I thought I was seriously drunk. Seriously out of my mind. Because I sure as hell had never met that guy before and I had a sudden impulse to slam my fist against his handsome face. Hard.

The funny thing was, I had drunk only orange juice since I stepped into this place.

For the 1,320th time looking back at them, I realized the distance between that jerk and her had decreased drastically.

And the next thing I knew, their faces came closer and closer to one another.

I froze, my heart stopping completely as that guy closed his eyes in anticipation.

I was sweating and terrified. I couldn't watch this.

Their lips were mere inches apart.

My stomach nearly leapt out of my throat.

_No. Don't..._ I found myself praying helplessly, my hands clenching up into tight fists.

And at the very last second, she abruptly jerked her head back, pushing an arm between them.

"Sorry. I can't do this," was hastily whispered out of her lips, her face full of indescribable sorrow.

Before that guy even had a chance to react, she turned around and waltzed away, toward the restroom, never glancing back once at his shocked face.

_Serves you right. Jerk!_

I let out a breath of relief that I didn't realise I had been holding. Without really thinking about it, I mustered my strength, stumbled to my feet, and followed her.

When I entered the girl restroom, there were several stalls closed. I had no idea which one she was in so I casually walked along the stalls, as if I was trying to find the cleanest one to use.

Red high heels... White boots... Silver gray pumps...

Gosh… This was insane. What the heck was wrong with me? Why the hell should I be here anyway? I didn't care about her, did I?

She was my love rival. She hated me for stealing her supposed-to-be boyfriend.

Whatever happened to her was none of my business, was it?

I pursed my lips into a thin line and decided to leave her alone. But the sound of someone sighing ever so sadly and almost inaudibly from the stall in the farthest corner of the restroom halted my walking immediately. I didn't even need to look at the shoes to know that it was Shizuru. Setting my intention to leave aside, I had a ridiculous urge to knock on the door and ask her what's wrong. However, in the end I changed my mind because seriously, I felt like some sort of a stalker right now.

On second thought, wasn't I the culprit who made everything so wrong in her perfect life?

Wordlessly, I retreated back to the sink nearest to the entrance and leaned against it, staring at the dim light reflected on the wall, arms crossing.

After a few minutes, or perhaps just a few very long seconds, she eventually came out. She didn't pay attention to anything around. Her face was blank, her eyes void of any emotion.

She calmly washed her hands and dried them. Then, looking up to check her slightly pale features, she was obviously surprised to see me staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Normally, I would turn beet red and immediately broke contact. But this time, somehow I just couldn't take my eyes off her in spite of the hot blush creeping up my neck.

For a long while, we just stood motionless like that, silently staring at each other's reflection, never facing directly.

Fortunately, nobody was in the restroom at the time, besides us. Otherwise, we probably would look like fools.

And still keeping her crimson eyes fixed on me in the mirror, she started to stroll toward me, her movements so slow and drawn out.

There was that familiar emotion in those ethereal eyes that I was yet to recognize.

It wasn't anger. Nor was it jealousy or hatred. For some odd reason, it left me breathless, my heart thumping wildly inside my tight chest.

When she stepped up right in front of me, we both automatically turned our heads and gazed right into each other's eyes.

Her eyes were so intense, boring deep into mine as though she was trying to read my soul. As though she could see straight through me.

Or as though she wanted me to see something in her, behind that carefully composed mask.

The tiny hairs on my arms stood on end and a shiver ran down my spine. I felt that invisible and indefinable fear. Once again.

And without warning, she raised her hand.

I instinctively snapped my eyes close, bracing myself for a hard slap in the face. If hitting me could make her feel better, I was willing to be her punching bag.

Instead, I felt an amazingly soft, warm hand press gently against my cheek, tenderly tugging a strand of dark hair behind my ear.

Her thumb glided over my skin, stroking it so softly, so very softly.

My eyes flew open, easily locking into hers again.

And my breath hitched so hard in my throat. My heart started palpitating a mile a second.

Like a flame, her beautiful eyes consumed me. Everything around me. Leaving absolutely nothing behind.

Thousands of questions were dying to leave my frozen lips. Yet all I could barely breathe out was her name.

"Shizuru…"

And I could feel her shuddering as she slammed her eyes shut. Like she was in some kind of pain.

When she opened her eyes, a weak smile danced on her curved lips. She studied my face for a very short moment before letting out a shaky sigh. In a frenzied daze, she made a mad dash for the door, running away again.

And I stood still there, so dumbstruck and frustrated.

What did she want?

What did... I want?

Suddenly, I wasn't so sure anymore.

And I had never been more confused in my whole life.


End file.
